The Reel Rejects - ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025) MOVIE REVIEW – THIS MOVIE IS COMPLETE CHAOS!

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

DOES IT DESERVE THE OSCAR?!? One Battle After Another Full Reaction Watch Along:   / thereelrejects   Visit http://www.liquidiv.com & use Promo Code: REJECTS Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 With the Academy Awards nearly upon us, John & Andrew catch up with one of the year's MOST talked-about films, giving their One Battle After Another reaction, recap, commentary, analysis, breakdown, & spoiler review!! John Humphrey & Andrew Gordon share their first time watching reaction and review of “One Battle After Another” (2025), the latest film from acclaimed writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson staring Leonardo DiCaprio (There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, Licorice Pizza). Loosely inspired by the spirit of Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, the film blends crime drama, dark comedy, and political satire as it follows a former radical whose past resurfaces when his family becomes entangled in a dangerous web of power, corruption, and unfinished revolutionary business. Follow Aaron On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealaaronalexander/?hl=en Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Have it all with BYU on Disney Plus. On June 18th, 2023, Ocean Gate's Titan submersible imploded during an expedition dive to the Titanic, killing all five on board, including Ocean Gate founder and CEO Stockton Rush. Numerous industry experts and employees from within Ocean Gate itself had warned Rush of impending doom, citing safety concerns and a lack of testing. His hubris, ego, and reckless desire for innovation over all else cost him his life and that of four others. The catastrophic destruction of the Titan submersible sent shockwaves through the ocean

exploration industry that are still being felt today. The Ocean Gate Titan submersible, a preventable tragedy, a two-part series available now on shipwrecks and sea dogs. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you to Liquid IV for sponsoring this video. More on them in just a bit. Let's do this thing. I'm excited. Let's see some Oscar stuff. Oh man. Gang. Gang. Oh, we just braved one battle after another.

If you happen to be at this point in the video, thank you for watching. If you could leave a like, I would very much support the Reject Revolution. Tiana Taylor. Who's really good. She's in Dan Chase Infinity. Okay. Yeah. Tion Taylor's been a whole bunch of.

bunch of stuff lately or at least I've seen a lot more of her in light of this. But yes, if you could leave a like and also subscribe, hit that notification bell to be notified whenever one of these reactions comes your way. That would be very much appreciated. Also, big, big, big thank you to the folks over Prepper for putting together these highlights, navigating through all the sensitive content and racial slurs and whatever else I'll display here. We don't enjoy having to censor things, generally speaking, but to get it visible to

you on YouTube. It's a necessity. So, yeah, appreciate Prepper for putting together the rhythm and keeping everything, you know, able to reach your eyeballs. Also, if you want to get the full one battle after another experience alongside Andrew, myself, Vineland by Thomas Pinchon, that is the novel. There you go. Yeah, if you want to get the full-length reaction, watch-along experience, you can grab your own copy, your own HBO Max, your physical copy, whatever you got, come on over to Patreon.com slash to Real Rejects. And over there, you can sync up with the time code, watch alongside us.

See everything that doesn't make these highlights. You know, it's like you're in the part, in the room with us, so to speak. And we also got a bunch of great, uh, uh, the,

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You get a glimpse into our day and day out shooting schedule as well as, you know, getting the opportunity to ask us some questions. It'll guide the review portions of videos like these. And you can save yourself 15% on some rejectnation shop.com gear. Jenna Malone was in here? Who is Jenna Malone? We're gonna have to pull up the IMDB on this. Did I miss her in this?

I had that same reaction you just did. I was like, where was she? All right. I know we got an out for you. So we got to be a little bit efficient today. We got some questions, I am sure. But Andrew. I'll give quick thoughts.

Let's wrap a little bit. How you feeling? I feel great. It was an incredible movie just really quick. I could be wrong. Please correct me if I am. It did say Colleen Atwood,

I believe the costume designer. So I found it very fascinating that they mentioned the bat. He was Batman when he was, you know, taken into the... Oh, sure. Yeah. Oh, coach an Embry.

I used to coach him in baseball. It's Ethan Emory, son. Wow. That's crazy. So I used, I didn't know he was working in films now. Oh, Gil Scott Heron. We got the Revolution. Will not be televised.

Perfect. I found it interesting that, they mentioned Batman because I believe she was the costume designer on my favorite costume of all time, the Batman Returns costume in Batman 89 and Batman Returns. She was probably on set like, this is so meta. But I really enjoyed this film. This is a very fascinating topic,

especially right now in the political climate that we are in. Very fascinating role for DiCaprio like you. I'm used to seeing him more in like those gangster type of roles or just more nuanced roles as well, just like, you know, and departed or what was, jingo and chain, stuff like that. But this was very fascinating just to watch him and, you know, playing a revolutionary like this and see him with so much emotional baggage.

It felt more like watching Rick Dalton than like the Killers of the Flower Moon guy or like Calvin Candy. But yeah, yeah. But also too, not to see him being so front and centered at the very beginning as the plot was like unfolding. and then, you know, I like that Leo does that now.

Like, he's, obviously he's all over the marketing for this, and he is a prominent, you know, and a central character, but yeah, so much of this, he's on,

he's just a part of a bigger machine. And I do like that he does these things where, yeah, he's certainly giving his all, but it's an ensemble piece for sure. And he's not trying to steal the ensemble. Yeah, and like, but they set the tone with that

in the first 15, 20 minutes, and I appreciate it then. I think it was a wise choice to do. But you could also, feel like too as the film was unfolding you know not a rest of married gentlemen sorry the credits are you're good you're good you could you could feel like in the first

15 20 minutes not only his but the other characters like their their ideology what they believe in and their perspective and it gives you an understanding just where they're coming from and then once we once all that happens and then we get into the

predicament unfortunately of what's his wife his girlfriend wife baby mama's name I forgot her character named she was incredible that actor oh perfidia perfidia beverly hills yes yes tiana taylor when all that happens and then he's in a position of like hiding out and having to raise this uh child alone like that's that's a lot you know to have to handle on on his own so um you know having to numb that pain uh throughout his like yeah he's got a an incredible child that he gets to raise but he's got to do it alone so i can imagine like how

lonely and isolating that can be having to do that by yourself. You know, it's not an easy thing raising a kid. Yeah, and to be alone and to probably feel very powerless and disconnected from like, even though it doesn't seem like he was the main brain behind the action they were taking with the French 75. You know, it's got to feel weird trying to like raise a kid. You're not really able to be involved in any of the revolution now because you're in witness protection, essentially.

You're just hiding out. And not only that. Yeah. And you're paranoid. The paranoia. of having like we could get caught at any which time. So yeah, for sure. But and also the cinematography in this film,

the sweeping landscapes into the intimate close-ups, chefs get. Seriously, if this, I really have not stayed up to date on who has been nominated for whatever in the Academy Awards, but if this film was not nominated for cinematography, wow. Yeah, yeah, just beautiful. And the 70-millimeter, even on a TV,

looks amazing and you notice it right away seeing that grain really you know strikes you especially now that everything is pretty much digital before we get to the questions what did you think how are you filmed yeah I really enjoyed this I mean this was a vivid experience for sure and and certainly it's one of those movies that makes me want to go out and just learn more and become more worldly because this is you know based on a novel but it's also based on real life you know, obviously, both, you know, from the revolutionary side as well as from, you know, the, you know, it's, you have the revolution and then you have like the forces of the state, whether they be the paramilitary or the police or whatever. Yeah, I'm not the most knowledgeable person on like revolutionary action and certainly the array of politics that they're discussing in this movie. but I do make it my business at least to take some of that in.

And I'm actually, this is a movie that gets me excited to go listen to some commentary by people smarter than me. I know there's like an FD signifier, a couple of videos from him about this. And, and yeah, like I do. It's a movie that makes me want to go out and seek, you know,

a greater array of opinions. But yeah, like as a film, this flew by in terms of just like, you know, the actual experience of watching it. Like, yeah, very uncomfortable a lot of the time.

Very vivid, very harsh in certain circumstances and certain, you know, developments and whatnot. But also, yeah, like based in reality and there's a certain, I think, interesting way that they're able to depict the sort of mess of all this and the sort of dichotomy of like your ideology versus your action and when the situation just gets so much bigger than you and the business of revolution is just sort of one battle after another until you move the rudder incrementally enough to make a legitimate change or whatever it is and you know it's it's hard because

all this stuff is human and you know on both sides it is so and you know it's like there are i think this movie was an interesting conversation about you know the systems and yeah things the various tyrannies and the various prejudices and the various objectifications you know that this society that we live in kind of thrust upon us and force us all to react to you too. So, you know, it's an interesting yin and yang between like characters like perfidia and lockjaw because you know, they are diametrically opposed

and yet they both get off on some weird thing that exists at the midpoint between them and it's twisted and disgusting and there's like a cat and mouse get like they're in ways sort of detached from the real humanity of the situation because they're just so

you know to a particular extreme within their own ideology and yeah, the way in which they acknowledge the politics of sex they're sitting around the fire and she has that whole speech about, you know, the the female

reproductive system is the weapon and the guns are the fun, you know, it's a, she's a seaman demon, John. Whatever the hell that means. The amount of horrible slang phrases that were used in this movie. I got to imagine, too, a lot of those actors are like, okay, I'm getting paid to do this.

Sure, of course. yeah you gotta you gotta embrace the non-judgment of the character and and you know the greater goal of the art but yeah and then to have this again totally twisted ridiculous sort of uh this character like lockjaw who just will not stop he is a bit like a terminator he's just so determined and he's so you know stone-faced and he's so brimming with this you know seething i don't know just mhm under the surface and to come to find that even he is a deviant by some greater system and like as above so below the revolution that's taking place in the underground just beneath the surface

where all the regular people like you see so few of the regular people like her friends are like the regular are the normies that you see for a minute That's a good observation you made too they really did feel extremely grounded and did not feel like you were watching even actors they really did feel real

like strikingly outside of both purviews because yeah it's like you have the revolution which you know there are all kinds of conversations to have about violence and the purpose of violence and i kind of as i look at the world from my own interpretation sort of accept that like while i'm not a violent person and i don't celebrate or encourage violence necessarily there are just some things in life and especially politics and when fascism tyranny any other form of oppression is afoot sometimes violence is a natural outcome of oppression and sometimes it's unavoidable and sometimes, you know, again, while I don't encourage violence, sometimes violence has to be necessary in certain cases. And this is an interesting

conversation about that, but also, yeah, it's the ideology versus the people and the weird sort of personal things that we crush and don't understand about our own identities as we're also aligning our whole identity with these rebellions or these systems of power that we want to preserve or whatever it might be. And so, yeah, there's an as above so baloness where you have the revolution just underground from the normal people who we rarely ever see. And then you have, you know, the main face of the tyranny or the chokehold, you know, the, you know, immigration enforcements that are putting people in cages and separating families and mangling people like their meat, you know, or, you know, the police in the streets looking for reasons to incite violence. And

sure, not every situation is this, but these are real situations that happen. But then beyond that, you know, beyond the state versus the revolution, it's like there's a counter, I'm gonna pay this as above, so blow the thing off, I swear. There's like a counter above the state,

which is the fucking Christmas collective or whatever they called that thing, which is like the shadowy cabal of dudes who are looking to kind of do their own revolutionary action insofar as they are going to preserve the imbalance of power that benefit it's them ultimately and supports their, you know, narrow ideology of who is worthy and why.

And so with all we're learning about the Epstein files and shit, like as outlandish and colorful as this movie is, it's an interesting explosion of psychologies meeting ideologies, meeting these systems that are faulty because of human error. And yeah, this whole mess of a world that we have is fascinating. Like, again, I'm curious to get some more direct political. reads and certainly like the objectification throughout this movie is a pointed thing there's that whole keep repeating though do you like black girls and then frigging lock jaw says it in his own way like i like black girl you know like and there's yeah i know that in the conversation around social change and

and you know revolution and whatnot you know women are instrumental to that and especially black women are are you know if you do even a modicum of your reading instrumental to that and so the way this movie its black woman characters is interesting and they are certainly quite varied you know perfidia being this you know fiery visionary but who is completely kind of erratic in her own personal foundations then you have regina hall who seems like the really sensible steady clear-minded one who meets this you know end where i don't know what happened to her you know we don't even really get the clear on if she makes it out to prison forever or if they just kill her and then you have Yeah, this sort of child of the two halves of the thing in, you know,

Lockjaw. No, no, no. In her daughter, what's her name? I should know. Charlene, you know, and she is now, you know, kind of the new, as the movie position is, she's the new version of this, you know, for the now, for the, it's not the old thing that, you know, we're trying to hold on to. And then God, she wasn't raised by Lockjaw.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And it's a nature nurture in that, yeah, the whole like commodification of like, you're my daughter and we could have got to know each other and you're fucking disrespectful and like this is so twisted. And yeah, and so like you can see where like a human once was that just got completely warped in this man. And like it's sad because he's like, he's like, he's like, he's like, he's like, he has these feelings about black women and stuff like that. Like keeps that closet in. Yeah, I'm like if you could free yourself from just these miles of concrete, I'm sure repression trauma, whatever. you might be able to but you're so far gone and yeah like the way he ends up just mangled and like you know tough his nails he walks away from getting shot in the face and then all of a sudden they yeah they they lure him in with this you know ultimate you know acceptance and position and he's the top of the mountain he's the christmas adventurer and they yeah they just did a really good job too really quick for it two seconds and then we'll get to the question i thought they did a good job of blending certain themes like

parent and responsibility and also how conflict shapes i i identify entity. Yeah. So they did a really incredible job just blending these things together. Really, really strong film, dude. Yeah, and sympathetic. Like, it's interesting, again, to see Leo in this mode and to, yeah, be like a character who's like a real fuck up. And a lot of the time, you're like, dude, you are absolutely not helping yourself. But, like, with a heart in the right place. Yeah. He's very ineffectual to, like, the motion of the actual plot. But, like, you do feel that great relief when they reunite because you know that this guy is at least very human and really loves this girl. He really loves his daughter. Yeah. By the time we get to the end of the film,

though, you really truly believe his arc now. And, uh, you know, when, uh, you know, he's really being more attentive towards his daughter. Yeah. So it's not that he hasn't been caring towards her. He just hasn't been a, the, the most like their dad, if, if that makes any sense. You know what I mean? He's, uh, she's been more of his babysitter. She's been more of the parent, uh, for the last, uh, you know, so on years. So, but. All right. Well, let's hop into a few questions before we hit the Boogie. This is, yeah, this movie you could talk about forever. But Captain Fernandez, thanks for chiming in.

Captain says, I saw this in IMAX. And when the Steely Dan needle drop hits, as we're introduced to teenage Willis slash Charlene, I knew we were in for something special. Are there any needle drops in other movies that made you feel the same way? I'm sure there are. That's a great question.

The only one I can just, right now out of the blue, think of that I remember going, this pump me up needle drop was, Thor Ragnarok? What were the, they played the same song twice. What was the, um, can you pull it up for me? Because I feel so dumb right now.

Which movie, sorry? Thor Ragnarok. They played the same song twice. Oh, the immigrant song? Yeah, there you go. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like that, I thought that was an awesome needle drop twice.

Because usually you don't see the same song play twice in, in a movie like that. Yeah. That was really cool. But I'm sure there's so many. Just in the moment. That's what I'm picking. What about you? you? Right now, my friend Mallory, one of my best friends in the world last year, took me to see

Lost Highway. And there is a needle drop in that movie. It's a cover of this magic moment by Lou Reed. And it's such a beautiful moment. And it's a song that's become very important to me. So like that's a, yeah, I think that's a great, a great one. But yeah, there are so, so many. I bet that's the one you guys were expecting, John. I also. Personally, I like the love hurts in Halloween, Rob Zombie's version. Not that that was the moment where I was like, this is going to be the movie, but, you know, yeah, there's a lot of, yeah, there are a lot of good movie needle drops.

But yeah, it's like a let's go one, you know, it wasn't like, yeah, that was a moment where I was like, oh, yeah, this movie something. But I'm sure there are a million examples, you know, so ask this question again on another needle drops movie. Yeah, no, it's a great question, though. Thank you. All right, Pierre. Thank you for being a real recheck.

Both. Thank you for being a real recheck. And for asking the question. We appreciate you. What did you guys think of Tiana Taylor's performance? I think she deserved the Oscar, even though she had little screen time. I mean, she elevated every scene she was in. And she really leaves you remembering her performance, even though she's barely in the film.

So I think she was incredible. I don't know what else I've seen her. I feel like she's been acting more recently because she's, It's like a musician, too. I feel like she's kind of a multi-hyphen-in-in-in now. She had incredible presence in every single scene she was in. And the fact that I don't really, I don't think I've seen her in anything else. And I know I talk about this a lot when I mention actors I haven't really seen in many other things. She's acting with pretty big heavyweights.

Sean Penn, Leonard, DeCaprio, and she's really holding her own in those scenes. So she did an incredible job. So I've, you know, I'm pretty shocked that she wasn't nominated for an Academy Award. Yeah. Has she not been? Well, I don't know. Like I said, I was not up to date on who was nominated for what. Cinematography, this film for sure deserved.

But I could see her getting a nomination, too. She was... Oh, so it was nominated for Best Cinematography? Yeah, I guess so. I mean, yeah, I could see that. I was going to say, Sean Penn got a nomination. He's incredible. Oh, did Benicio?

Is that what it said? Benicio? I guess they both got nominated. Interesting. Fascinating. I mean, he's incredible. Benicio was great in this too. I really,

yeah, I really did like Benicio a movie that's so heavy-handed, like he brings a little levity to all the tension that's happening to, like literally, when he's saying like breathe,

almost like he's speaking to the audience. Okay, Tiana Taylor was nominated for Best Supporting Actors. Oh, good. Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah, 100%. I mean, like, yeah,

this is the first thing I've seen her act in and I've seen a lot more of her face lately, but like, yeah, she was incredibly effective in this role. I mean, yeah, she absolutely nailed the assignment. She has to be this force of nature. She has to like lift off the screen and be this sort of, yeah, figure that, yeah, is very complicated and, you know, so many people's lives and futures hinge upon. I think, yeah, her otherworldly presence. Like, yeah, she's everything that is presented here. She's so ferocious and formidable and sexy and you know competent but also very you know wild and and sort of untamed in a way uh yeah i think

she absolutely absolutely deserves every flower she gets from this from this work because she did a terrific terrific job actually got it if i had a religion a daily ritual it would be liquid i i'm not exaggerating i take it every single day sometimes twice a day in the past couple weeks I've gotten into running. That's my thing now. And nothing depletes me like a long session in the sun. And this bad boy rehydrates me so well. And with all that glycogen depletion, this hydrates me so well.

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Currently, my favorite. So, Reject Nation, if you want to get on board this train, you can subscribe and save 30% at LiquidIV.com. com slash rejects. That's Liquidiv.com slash rejects. 30% off when you subscribe and save at Liquidiv.com slash rejects. Terpor Live More. Raymond Terry. Love the film and how it's a mel.

pta successfully juggled one thing i'm still fascinated about is how the time period of the movie is never explicitly stated talking about that yeah there are visual aids regarding technology and vehicles and a specific movie being referenced yet it could be any of the recent decades how did this come across to either of you maybe in film line maybe the in film line quote time doesn't exist yet it controls us anyway is all that's needed that's a that's a great point raymond i mean we were talking about because there were pay phones being used and here in California. A lot of them don't work no more. Well, not only do they not work, it's hard to even find them. Yeah, yeah, totally. You know, so seldom do I ever see pay phones anymore. And if you do find them, as John just pointed out, they don't work very often anymore.

So that's why at first I was like, wait, what year is this? And then they were also having cell phones. I was like, I'm a little confused at the timeline right now. So, yeah, I was a little confused. But then I realized it Whatever it doesn't really wait greeting code She was one of the people over the phone Okay that makes more sense I was like okay I did not

Sorry we saw the Jen Malone Yeah sorry sorry guys Genim Malone But yeah I'm in the end of the day what I don't think it really matters In terms of what year I stopped caring at at the at a certain point But what about you? Yeah did you was there a specific year you thought it was Not especially but I think that's kind of the I would have

I think that's part of the point because I think part of what the movie is getting at is that like In a sense life is sort of one battle after another and the business of Revolution and creating a better world for everyone is a constant battle because there are so many Perspectives and sides and different machinations and summer for all the people and some are for just a few of the people and and and yeah it's one of those things where it's like a timeless set of circumstances like the specificities change and there is that thing at the end where she's like maybe you can go on and change the world but part of it is like the world never really fully just reinvents off of one person or one action it's just incrementally over years decades centuries so yeah like i appreciated sort of that it's a bit it's like vaguely modern and even in the earlier scenes i feel like when they capture perfidia someone's got a smartphone there so like so yeah it's like it seems like it must be at least in the to post 2000, sure, I would argue.

Sure. Because there was still pay phones at that time. Sure. Well, yeah, it's like, I think any time where you weren't fully in the, I mean, you know, by the, I think by the 2000s, you're starting to get to the point where a cell phone is less of a luxury novelty and more of like, you know, okay, these are becoming more regular. Now pay phones.

Now even people who are on the margins of society can get a cheap cell phone, you know? So like the need for pay. phones and nobody carrying cash around like you know but anyhow all that aside um yeah i like i think the way that like you pointed out i like the melting of all the different genres and stuff like this was heavy in a lot of ways and thoughtful and political but also it had a certain sense of fun it has a certain sense of again thrill even though it never felt like a roller coaster it never felt fun in the intense moments it never felt like an action movie or even the moments where it felt like a heist movie felt more like an intense

like anything could go very wrong anytime. But yeah, I would say that I think it complements what the movies talking about to have it be at a sort of vague time and place because again, there are always going to be secret cabals at the top of the ladder trying to control

everything for the select few and they're always going to be people at the bottom just trying to help everyone live and then the rest of us sort of in between trying to make sense of and discover the true reality of it all. So anyway, Rudy Rogers, thank you for being a royal reject. We're asking a question we appreciate you. Hi, rejects.

Excited as heck that you guys are finally getting around to this. I've been waiting to watch it for the first time with you guys. Curious to hear what y'all believe is the overarching message of the story, sending much love. I mean, for me, keep it pretty simplistic and simple. I just, I thought, like, you know, whatever your political ideology is, like, what are you willing to, like, do to achieve it? or what are you willing to sacrifice and give up for it at the end of the day? And what do you believe in, right? I think a lot of that was, like, coming across to me when I was watching this.

And, like, what are the important things? I think John also said something, like, very striking to me. Like, I'm at heart a pacifist, but sometimes we got to do things that we don't want to do. Like, I would never, ever want violence in any situation. But sometimes we have to do things. we don't want to do. You just hold the two ideas. You're like, I don't support violence innately, but never, never, never.

But there will be circumstances where you can't really argue. Yeah, and I doubt it. Yeah, and like from Leo's character, like, I doubt he would want to do that. But he saw, like, injustice and he was just doing what he felt was right. So, you know, it's like, again, what are you willing to sacrifice and do for the things you feel are right? I think the message of the movie really is to read the goddamn revolutionary handbooks. So you don't forget the fucking codes. Yeah, that's not, I think you're on to something there.

Yeah, be careful how much you drink and smoke over the years. This is a fascinating movie and it's a lot of things. And so I would be lying if I was saying, if I said, you know, I'm sitting here going like, this is the main message of the movie. But I don't know. I think it's, it's somewhere in the realm of the balance of humanity with the ideology. you know, it's, it's about kind of aligning yourself to the circumstances. You, Viva la revolution, they say, you live the revolution.

And sometimes that means taking direct action. And sometimes that means locking in and caring for this kid, you know, and everything in life in some way, shape, or form, depending on how you're looking at, it can be political. And so, yeah, you know, what do you have? you have this fiery symbol of the revolution, but who sold us out and who, you know, made a very selfish choice to like get completely off the grid. Go live her freedom.

We don't know what happens to her, you know. So like you got a kind of align, I guess, what your, yeah, your ideology with like your actual waking self to create the most direct, bless you kind of action. It's like you look at the Benicio del Toro character and I was so calm in his presence always. Always. Because he seemed like a guy who knew,

exactly what he stood for and what action he was trying to take, but who also had sort of a grip on himself as a person and his place in all of this. Yeah. And I feel like, you know, he's the least messy appearing character, like Regina Hall, especially, are the least sort of erratic and messy characters. And then by the end, you wonder, like, yeah, they keep talking about how, oh, you got all your mother's fire and grit and, you know, determination and single-mindedness. But she's also got her dad's tenderness. And even though he is not a portrait of perfection for what the revolution ought to be, he's a bit of a schlub. He's, you know, obviously he's a supporting player. But he has that love that I think helps to balance her moving into the future. You know, you've got the fire. But you've also got the recollection of what you actually have to live for and the security in that. And, you know, that I think can alleviate you the fear that makes you run. That whole thing about you're a stump. She's a runner. You know, Leo for all of his, for all of his, for all. of his shortcomings is like pretty on the surface in terms of who he is, whereas perfidia is a bit of a fortress, you know, up until the letter at the end when you really kind of feel who this person might be vulnerably. So I don't know, the revolution is everywhere. It will and won't be televised in interesting ways. Women and black women are probably at the forefront of it. There's so much to glean from this. And I, yeah, I'm just excited to go engage more in the conversation and take in more perspectives on it personally. of those films, I feel like, too, the more you watch it, the more you're going to gather from it. Yeah. Yeah, 100%. All right, bud.

Last question, Jaden Rhodes. Jaden, thank you so much for being a royal reject, asking a question. We appreciate you. This was my second favorite movie of last year. Only sinners beat it out by a fraction. Cenders is rad. I haven't seen too many PTA movies, Paul Thomas Anderson, but of the ones I have seen, this is probably my favorite.

I'm curious if y'all agree. And what is y'all's favorite Paul Thomas Anderson movie? I think I've only seen Boogie Nights, if I'm being honest. And I saw that like 20 years ago, I think. It's been a very, very, very long time to the point where I really don't remember much of it. So based on that, sure, I'll go with this one is my favorite. But yeah, like I said, at the beginning of the intro, I would love to, with John, go on a tangent here of many PTA films.

If you guys are down for that, if John is down for that. Yeah, I, I too have a pretty spotty PTA viewing history personally. I have seen Boogie Nights. It's been a very long time. I think this or that, I would say, are the contenders, because I haven't seen Magnolia yet. I haven't seen Punch Drunk Love yet. My hot take is I saw there will be blood in, like, high school when it first came out. I have very little recollection of it

other than it left me cold and I did not share in everyone else's enthusiasm for it. I saw the master once when it came out. I thought that was an interesting gripping movie. I don't know if I love it as of watching experience

that I would like put on again. Inherent vice I think is very fun but I think it's more of a low key PTA. It's not what I would like go to bat for but I do think is a lot of fun. I liked it. I remember liking it. Haven't seen Phantom Thread or Lickrish Pizza.

So yeah, I mean, this one I would say of the ones I've seen, if it's not boogie nights, which I need to watch again with fresh eyes. I feel like that might still be it. But this one is a contender. I thought, yeah, this one definitely kept me gripped. And I really like the ensemble, the music, the cinematography, everything. And it flew by. Like, it's for a two hour and 40 minute movie. Oh, I didn't feel the runtime.

Yeah, I didn't really think of or feel the runtime much at all. So I felt the intensity and the tension and my heart racing. Yeah. That I felt. Yeah. But out of all those movies, if we could pick one to react to next, for me, I would want to do. I've heard so many, I've heard so many incredible things about them all. But Magnolia for years, I've just heard so many positive things.

I really want to see that one one day. Just a couple quickie facts before we close out here for fun. Lockjaw's second in command and chief interrogator Danvers is played by a non-professional actor. Oh. James Raderman, a security consultant and former HSI special agent. He's the guy I think who's interrogating everybody. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you were like, he felt real. He felt real, man.

That's why it felt so real. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool. And also, apparently the exterior mansion where the Christmas Adventurers club meets was the home of Ronald Reagan and Sacramento, where he was governor of California. Okay. And, yeah, I guess the Bennett, Sean Penn started reading this. He knew he wanted to make the film calling it a gift of a part for an actor, his age.

I mean, he was incredible in the film. Oh, boy. great performance. Yeah. Oh, and apparently the car chase scene at the end was not scripted. Paul Thomas Anderson was on a car location scouting for hours when he was thinking, I'm never coming on a location scout again. He spotted the road dips, the quote, river of hills, as the director called it,

and started shooting with his phone and losing the horizon. As he zoomed in, he thought it was even scarier. That's when he knew how and where to shoot and when he came up with the idea of Willis stopping the car in blind spot. I mean, that's why I was saying too, like as it's, Like, this is a cinematic roller coaster right now. The way everything is scoped out with this road. Oh, and yeah, the award Lockjaw receives for capturing the French 75.

The Bedford Forest Award is named for Nathaniel Bedford Forrest, the first Grand Wizard of the Klan. Oh, did you mention something? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, that's shut out in my mind. That's a pointed detail. And Bob is seen watching the Battle of Algiers, which is the 66 movie, an iconic film about left-wing political social resistance to tyranny. that forms much of the aesthetic of this film. Yeah, I would not have known that from a 60s film.

I think that's part of the message is just that all of this is a mess and it's all human, so you just got to do your best and try and align yourself as much as you can with your ideology that you feel like is right and is right for everyone around you. Or at least, you know, freeze from tyranny, everyone around you. Amen. Boy howdy, gang. This was quite a piece.

This was a tour to force in many ways. very curious to see how it fairs at the Academy Awards this year. Thank you for joining us. Leave us your thoughts. This is definitely one I want to just, yeah, hear some takes and opinions and, you know, it seems like a good water cooler movie. And a good opportunity to remind yourselves that, you know,

even though art doesn't have to be political, everything touches politics in some way. So we shouldn't be afraid of that in our media. Anyway, cheers, gang. We'll see you on the next one. One reaction after another. Peace out.